Critical triple roles of sodium iodide in tailoring the solventized structure, anode-electrolyte interface and crystal plane growth to achieve highly reversible zinc anodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Xiaomin Huang; Qingping Li; XiaoQin Zhang; Heng Cao; Jingxin Zhao; Yu Liu; Qiaoji Zheng; Yu Huo; Fengyu Xie; Bingang Xu; Dunmin Lin

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.037

Critical triple roles of sodium iodide in tailoring the solventized structure, anode-electrolyte interface and crystal plane growth to achieve highly reversible zinc anodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Nov 15;650(Pt A):875-882. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.037. Epub 2023 Jul 8.

Authors

Xiaomin Huang¹, Qingping Li¹, XiaoQin Zhang¹, Heng Cao¹, Jingxin Zhao², Yu Liu¹, Qiaoji Zheng³, Yu Huo¹, Fengyu Xie¹, Bingang Xu⁴, Dunmin Lin⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China.
² Nanotechnology Center, School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: jingxzhao@polyu.edu.hk.
³ College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China. Electronic address: joyce@sicnu.edu.cn.
⁴ Nanotechnology Center, School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: tcxubg@polyu.edu.hk.
⁵ College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China. Electronic address: ddmd222@sicnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37450976
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.037

Abstract

Aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries (ARZIBs) are promising for energy storage. However, the Zn dendrite and corrosive reactions on the surface of Zn anode limit the practical uses of ARZIBs. Herein, we present a valid electrolyte additive of NaI, in which I^- can modulate the morphology of Zn crystal growth by adsorbing on specific crystal surfaces (002), and guide Zn deposition by inducing a negative charge on the Zn anode. Simultaneously, it enhances the reduction stability of water molecules by participating in the solvation structure of Zn(H₂O)₆²⁺ by forming ZnI(H₂O)₅⁺. At 10 mA cm^-2, the assembled Zn symmetrical batteries can run stably over 1,100 h, and the depth of discharge (DOD) can reach 51.3 %. At 1 A g^-1, the VO₂||Zn full-cell in 2 M ZnCl₂ electrolyte with 0.4 M NaI (2 M ZnCl₂-0.4 M NaI) maintains of the capacity retention of 75.7 % over 300 cycles. This work offers an insight into inorganic anions as electrolyte additives for achieving stable zinc anodes of ARZIBs.

Keywords: Dendrite suppression; Electrolyte additive; Zn anode; Zn ion battery.